How to Install and Secure MongoDB on Oracle Linux 8

Open-source MongoDB is the most popular document-oriented database management system. It is cross-platform and uses JSON-like documents with optional schemas. MongoDB is written in C++ and is used for developing mission-critical and modern dynamic applications. The data objects are stored as separate documents in a collection in the MongoDB database versus in a traditional relational database system, where rows and columns are used. It also offers an easy querying and indexing functionality that allows developers to query complex document-based data sets easily.

In this post, we will explain how to install and use MongoDB on Oracle Linux 8.

Prerequisites

• A server running Oracle Linux 8 on the Atlantic.Net Cloud Platform
• A root password configured on your server

Step 1 – Create Atlantic.Net Cloud Server

First, log in to your Atlantic.Net Cloud Server. Create a new server, choosing Oracle Linux 8 as an operating system with at least 1GB RAM. Connect to your Cloud Server via SSH and log in using the credentials highlighted at the top of the page.

Step 2 – Add MongoDB Repository

The MongoDB package is not available in the Oracle Linux 8 default repo, so you will need to create the MongoDB repo on your system.

You can create it by running the following command:

nano /etc/yum.repos.d/mongodb-org-4.4.repo

Add the following contents:

[mongodb-org-4.4]
name=MongoDB Repository
baseurl=https://repo.mongodb.org/yum/redhat/$releasever/mongodb-org/4.4/x86_64/
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1
gpgkey=https://www.mongodb.org/static/pgp/server-4.4.asc

Save and close the file once you are done.

Step 3 – Install MongoDB on Oracle Linux 8

After creating a MongoDB repo, you can install the MongoDB package by just running the following command:

dnf install mongodb-org -y

Once the MongoDB is installed, start and enable the MongoDB service with the following command:

systemctl start mongod
systemctl enable mongod

To verify the MongoDB version, run the following command:

mongod --version

You will get the following output:

db version v4.4.14
Build Info: {
    "version": "4.4.14",
    "gitVersion": "0b0843af97c3ec9d2c0995152d96d2aad725aab7",
    "openSSLVersion": "OpenSSL 1.1.1k  FIPS 25 Mar 2021",
    "modules": [],
    "allocator": "tcmalloc",
    "environment": {
        "distmod": "rhel80",
        "distarch": "x86_64",
        "target_arch": "x86_64"
    }
}

Step 4 – Configure MongoDB

By default, MongoDB can be connected without any authentication. For security purposes, it is recommended to enable MongoDB authentication.

First, edit the MongoDB configuration file and enable authentication:

nano /etc/mongod.conf

Add the following lines:

security:
 authorization: enabled

Save and close the file when you are finished.

Step 5 – Create an Admin User for MongoDB

Next, you will need to create an admin user and set a password to manage the MongoDB databases.

First, connect to the MongoDB instance with the following command:

mongo

Once you are connected, create a database named admin using the following command:

use admin

Next, create an admin user and set a password with the following command:

db.createUser(
{
user: "mongoadmin",
pwd: passwordPrompt(),
roles: [ { role: "userAdminAnyDatabase", db: "admin" }, "readWriteAnyDatabase" ]
}
)

You will be asked to set a password as shown below:

Enter password: 
Successfully added user: {
	"user" : "mongoadmin",
	"roles" : [
		{
			"role" : "userAdminAnyDatabase",
			"db" : "admin"
		},
		"readWriteAnyDatabase"
	]
}

Next, exit from the MongoDB shell with the following command:

exit

Finally, restart the MongoDB service to apply the changes:

systemctl restart mongod

You can now connect to the MongoDB instance using the administrator credentials:

mongo --port 27017 --authenticationDatabase "admin" -u "mongoadmin" -p

Once you are logged in, you should see the following output:

MongoDB shell version v4.4.14
Enter password: 
connecting to: mongodb://127.0.0.1:27017/?authSource=admin&compressors=disabled&gssapiServiceName=mongodb
Implicit session: session { "id" : UUID("1d5be9b1-d0bd-4b6a-9ca7-adecddf5f9dd") }
MongoDB server version: 4.4.14

Step 6 – Create a Database in MongoDB

In this section, we will show you how to interact with the MongoDB database.

To create a database named wpdb, run the following command:

use wpdb

Next, add some data to the wpdb database using the following command:

db.person.insertOne(
  { "Hitesh Jethva" : "41",
   "Vyom Jethva" : "8",
   "Raj Shah" : "18"
  }
)

You can now list available databases using the following command:

db

You will get the following output:

wpdb

To show documents in your database, run the following command:

show collections

You will get the following output:

person

To show the contents of your database collection, run the following command:

db.person.find()

You will get the following output:

{ "_id" : ObjectId("62a0d1047f7e6794c2dd6615"), "Hitesh Jethva" : "41", "Vyom Jethva" : "8", "Raj Shah" : "18" }

To switch the database to admin, use the following command:

use admin

To list all users, run the following command:

db.getUsers()

You will get a list of all users in the following output:

[
	{
		"_id" : "admin.mongoadmin",
		"userId" : UUID("544b73fe-aaed-4ad2-bb60-4fb8df334004"),
		"user" : "mongoadmin",
		"db" : "admin",
		"roles" : [
			{
				"role" : "userAdminAnyDatabase",
				"db" : "admin"
			},
			{
				"role" : "readWriteAnyDatabase",
				"db" : "admin"
			}
		],
		"mechanisms" : [
			"SCRAM-SHA-1",
			"SCRAM-SHA-256"
		]
	}
]

Conclusion

In this guide, we learned how to install and use the MongoDB database on Oracle Linux 8. We also learned how to enable MongoDB authentication and interact with a MongoDB database. You can now easily install and manage the MongoDB databases. Try it on dedicated hosting from Atlantic.Net!